1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an airbag cushion for a seat belt and more particularly, to an airbag cushion for a seat belt configured so that the airbag cushion is in close contact with a passenger's chest region without being rotated when the airbag cushion is deployed. The airbag cushion thus increases the area of the seatbelt wearer's body supported by the airbag, and enhances safety.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a seat belt is provided on a seat of a vehicle to safely protect a passenger sitting in the seat against an accident that many occur while the vehicle is being driven.
Such a seat belt typically includes a retractor that winds a webbing to accommodate it, an anchor that fixes the webbing pulled out from the retractor to each of left and right pillars of a vehicle body, a tongue that is attached to the webbing passing through the anchor, and a buckle to which the tongue is fastened.
In the event of an accident, the seat belt through the webbing firmly restrains the passenger to prevent his or her body from being ejected forwards from the seat.
However, the seat belt itself cannot sufficiently protect a passenger's body during a collision. In order to address the problem, recently, research and development has been undertaken into the design of an air belt having an airbag cushion deployable from the seat belt.
FIG. 1 shows an operation of an airbag cushion of a conventional air belt. The structure includes an inflator and an air belt. The inflator is installed in an upper portion of a pillar of a vehicle body, and is actuated by an ACU that generates a control signal depending on an impact level of the vehicle. The air belt secures an airbag unit 9 to a webbing 1. Here, the airbag unit 9 is made of a soft material and is supplied with gas through a tube 8 connected to the inflator so as to be inflated and deployed from the webbing 1.
The airbag unit 9 includes a cover 10, an airbag cushion 11, and tear ends 10a. The cover 10 is stitched at both ends thereof to be secured to the webbing 1 and is woven to surround the webbing 1. The airbag cushion 11 is woven so as to be fillable with the gas at a portion covering the webbing 1 in the cover 10, and is supplied with the gas through the tube 8 for inflation. The tear ends 10a form both ends of the cover 10, and are fused or stitched to each other at a side while surrounding the webbing 1 and the airbag cushion 11 such that the tear ends 10a are separated from each other when the airbag cushion 11 is deployed.
However, the conventional airbag cushion is problematic in that it is deployed in a rotating manner towards a side of the webbing when the airbag cushion is inflated by the inflator, so that the airbag cushion may undesirably be positioned in a location other than a passenger's chest region. With such positioning, shock cannot be sufficiently absorbed by the airbag cushion.
The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of the background of the present invention, and is not intended to mean that the present invention falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art.